


First Day Alive

by cranber



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: F/F, Post S4, fuck men - lee and barbara, i dont know how to tag this one sorry!, lee recovers good as new, uhh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-22
Updated: 2018-09-22
Packaged: 2019-07-15 10:26:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16061186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cranber/pseuds/cranber
Summary: Lee recovers and does the most unpredictable thing on her first day back: she goes to Barbara Kean's.Thompkeanweek Day 4:Post S4/Dream S5





	First Day Alive

The first month was hard.

Lee spent the first week after having returned to the living by fading in-between hazy consciousness and the dark pitch-black void of sleep. She wasn’t at all aware of her surroundings and she couldn’t identify anyone or anything about the place she’d been in.

After a while, she regained a semi-steady ability to stay awake and remember what was happening around her. She’d been placed in the Gotham General hospital with no recollection of how she’d gotten there, except for a small note on her bedside with a brief and vague explanation of what had happened in the past few weeks from none other than Oswald Cobblepot.

When she got discharged, she decided to stay in her tiny, shabby apartment. She didn’t really have anything else to do, after all, and she wasn’t really ready to see anyone--especially Ed, or Jim--just quite yet. However, today, she promised to herself that she’d finally get out.

She took a shower, got dressed and put on makeup, preparing to head out. She caught a glance of herself in the mirror and was stunned. The first time she’d seen herself here after being discharged, she had looked frail--almost like a living corpse from the morgue back in the GCPD where she’d used to work.

She didn’t know where to go. So, she decided to do the most unpredictable thing;

So, she went to Barbara Kean’s.   


She didn’t really know why she’d decided to go to Barbara’s first, or why she was so drawn to the other woman’s presence. However, Lee pushed the doors open, noticing Barbara’s surprised smile.

“Hello, Barbara,” she said, giving a begrudging smile to the other woman. She still wasn’t over the whole mess of their past rivalry, but somehow, whatever force of nature decided to bring her here also assured that she wasn’t scared in the blonde’s presence. She felt an odd sense of fearlessness, in a sort of way. She surely couldn’t do any worse than Nygma had done to her, anyways. 

Barbara looked up from whatever she was doing, surprised. “Oh hiii, Leslie! I didn’t expect you to be out so soon.” She waved a hand, looking thoughtfully in Lee’s direction. “You don’t look too shabby, either! You know, with the whole Romeo and Juliet ploy you and Nygma were putting on.”   
  
Lee grumbled. “Trust me, it wasn’t nearly romantic as that.” She sat down on a barstool next to the other woman, examining her briskly. “You aren’t planning to kill me, right? I literally just had to deal with that, and I don’t plan to have to again any time soon.”   
  
Barbara gave her a tight-lipped smile. “No weapons here, darling.” After a second’s pondering, she looked up. “I mean, there are,” she admitted, producing a sharp-looking switchblade from her pocket, “but I won’t have to use it on you. At least, I sure hope not!” Barbara flashed a cheery smile and promptly folded and flicked the blade across the surface, it sliding off the table and clattering to the ground. Lee watched it glide across the table and settled into her seat, feeling a bit calmer.   
  
“So, what’s happened while I was out, anyways?” Lee asked. “I mean, you basically know everything about this town, along with Penguin, but I was worried he wouldn’t tell me the whole truth,” she said honestly. “He is a... good man, I suppose,” Lee made air quotes, “but he’d keep information from anyone if it’d further his “path to greatness” or whatever.”   
  
“I’m honoured that you’d think that,” she said, placing a manicured hand over her heart, “and you’re totally right about Ozzy. Ginger: The Sequel went around and blew up a whole hell’s load of buildings, including the Clocktower and the GCPD’s little headquarters. White Knight James Gordon fixed that, though, and ginger’s arrested or whatever. I don’t really care. And then Ozzie killed Butch, which came as a relief to me, but don’t tell anyone that.” She smiled like she was recounting a twisted tale, not like she was talking about a human life.   
  
“How’s Tabitha?” Lee asked, interrupting Barbara briefly. She seemed to remember that they’d had a fling a while back, and that the assassin girl and Butch were involved more recently. “Tabby’s trying to get revenge, of course,” Barbara said, cackling. “I mean, he shot her in the leg, too, which was all and great. But now she’s in “Oh Barbara, I don’t have any time for you, I’ve gotta get revenge on that son of a bitch,” mode, her poor soul.”    
  
“Doesn’t it seem like everyone in this town is trying to get revenge on Penguin?” Lee asked, sighing defeatedly. “He did save me and Nygma, which seemed selfless, but I’m sure there was an ulterior motive.” Everything that man ever did seemed to be in the interest of furthering his criminal career, or whatever the hell.   
  
“This is about you, not that feathered goofball,” Barbara said, disdain dripping from her voice. “What went down with you and Nygma, anyways? I mean, the poor guy gets attached to every woman he sees within a one mile radius, and I’m glad you finally smacked some sense into his ugly face. Even though it was by murdering him.”   
  
“He kind of fell in love with me,” she said, laughing. “I don’t really think he ever loved me as a person. He was, like, infatuated with the idea of me, you know? And he thought that I was playing right into his hands, even though deep down I would never, ever forgive him for what he did.” she murmured, thoughts filling of Kristen’s smile and Lee’s brief but happy life with Jim.   
  
“Did you ever love him back, the poor soul?” Barbara piped in inquisitorial. Lee scoffed. “Never in a million years would I.”   
  
“I’m glad we can put our past aside and join in the ever impertinent topic of hating that foolish man,” Barbara said. “Honestly, he was just trying to fill an Ozzy-sized hole in his heart,” she acclaimed, taking a sip of whatever the hell she was drinking. Lee laughed in agreement, tossed back her drink too. She wasn’t nearly drunk enough to talk about this.   
  
“Honestly, Lee, I don’t know how you’re not over dating yet,” Barbara purred while raising her jeweled hand to take a sip of her drink, wincing as she swallowed it down. “I’m not over dating,” Lee said, fixing Barbara with an unreadable look, “I’m just over men.”   


“...Are you insinuating what I think you are?” Barbara asked, fixing Lee with an equally intent but unreadable gaze. It was the closest thing to caution Lee had ever seen pass her face.   
  
“Yes, I am.”

And Lee did the most unpredictable thing she’d done the whole day--she put her bottle down, raised her hand to Barbara’s cheek and kissed her.  Barbara tasted like alcohol and lipstick, but that was okay with Lee.  _ It was so very Barbara, _ Lee thought, smiling subtly as they pulled away from eachother, the blonde flashing her signature catlike smile at Lee. “I’m glad you came to me tonight,” Barbara said. “Shall we revisit this idea?”

Lee looked down suddenly, her cheeks burning uncharacteristically. “I mean, can’t we talk about it now? I don’t know why I’m so drawn to you, but I think it’s something more than friendship. And I don’t know if it’s because of, well,  _ dying, _ but I’ve found that I can’t really keep denying these feelings from myself anymore.”  Barbara nodded thoughtfully, before tilting her head and adding; “I feel the same way, darling! Well, without the, you know, dying bit.”

Lee smiled, and Barbara smiled back, taking Lee’s hand. “We’ll destroy Ed Nygma together. We both tried, but this time, it’ll work for good. Especially because we’re a team now." 

“Just a team?” Lee teased, and Barbara added in; “Alright, alright, let me rephrase; since we’re together now.”   


**Author's Note:**

> hello, and thank you for reading!  
> i skipped day 3 because i didn't have any inspo for it, and also because i wanted to get caught up quickly! i'll probably continue the rest of the days and maybe go back to day 3 if i get any ideas!  
> i wrote this one before writing the other pieces i've since published, so i'm sorry if this bears any annoying resemblances plot wise to those.  
> as always, comments are super super encouraged!


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